The ManicaPost
Moffat Mungazi Post Correspondent
THE front page of last week’s edition of The Manica Post carried two stories which made interesting reading.
Headlined: ‘Free-for-all at hospital pharmacy’ and ‘Smuggling syndicates under spotlight’, the stories unravelled and exposed the rot that has crept into our midst as both corporates and individuals comprise their integrity by dabbling in unprofessionalism.
In the recent past, this publication has carried several interesting exposés as it diligently plays its “watchdog for society” role.
From the smuggling syndicates and Covid-19 scams to the illegal diamond dealing cartels and drug-dealing rings, The Manica Post has reported it all.
But what has really come over us as a society that we are now sacrificing our probity on the altar of deceitful and fraudulent conduct? Why are we allowing underhand dealings and other nefarious activities to become a norm? Has corruption become our culture?
Have our morals gone to the dogs if some among us shrewdly scheme to profit out of a global pandemic like coronavirus?
Many organisations and individuals are making a mockery of the tenets that uphold professional for self-serving interests. Sadly, this corporate or personal aggrandisement compromise integrity and affect service delivery.
At the heart of many malpractices is dishonesty and greed. Establishments without strong institutional checks and balances as well as efficient and effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are susceptible to manipulation of internal systems by unscrupulous officials.
We have had reports where insiders at companies have been accused of working in cahoots with other accomplices to fleece and bleed and their employers.
Something is amiss when officials who are paid to do their work hold out for kickbacks. Such bad apples have to be weeded out from organisations.
You know that something is absolutely wrong when those caught on the wrong side of the law palm the greases of corrupt officials to get away with murder. It shows we are on a road to perdition when councils illegally parcel out land top desperate home-seekers even on wetlands which are not even suitable for residential occupation.
All these corrupt activities are a corrosive cancer that eats away the core fabric of our integrity. Public confidence is inevitably lost when this goes unabated.
In its petty or grand form, corruption is wrong. It is deeply deplorable and retrogressive. Every has the duty to uproot this deep-seating vice.
Culprits ought to be brought to the book in order to send out a clear and stern warning and deter other would-be offenders.
The country continues experiencing revenue leakages through smuggling, especially on the illegal and porous points along Zimbabwe’s border with Mozambique.
Under the Second Republic, the country’s leadership has read the riot act against such malfeasance.
To walk this talk, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission is handling high profile cases as the war against graft continues.
Several top ranking officials including ministers and permanent secretaries such as former ministers Obadiah Moyo and Prisca Mupfumira, have been arrested and appeared in court over corruption and their cases are at different stages.
This shows Government’s desire to fight corruption across all sectors of the economy.
However, despite the many arrests in the recent past as the Second Republic intensifies the fight against graft, some officials at ports of entry and exit and in critical offices, continue to engage in the vice.
Cases of smuggling of gold through the country’s airports has remained a cause of concern.
A suspect, Tashinga Nyasha Masinire (33), was found in possession of 23 pieces of gold allegedly smuggled from Zimbabwe.
He was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday by South Africa’s anti-organised crime unit, the Hawks and is facing charges of contravening the Customs Act 91 of 1964 and Precious Metals Act 37 of 2005.
Ordinary citizens in Zimbabwe are concerned over the circumstances under which Masinire passed through security checkpoints at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, without declaring his luggage, only to be arrested in South Africa.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi this week said they were determined to get to the bottom of the matter.
President Mnagagwa has reiterated his strong stance against corruption: “Corruption remains the major source of some of the problems we face as a country and its retarding impact on national development cannot be overemphasised.
“On individual cases of corruption, every case must be investigated and punished in accordance with the dictates of our laws.
“There should be no sacred cows. My Government will have zero tolerance towards corruption and this has already begun.”
